Neuzeller Original Badebier (Bathbeer)

Brewed by Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle
Style: Schwarzbier
Neuzelle, Brandenburg, Germany

Dark color. Lacy and fluffy head. Nose of roasted coffee malt. Slightly tart backed up with lots of roasted maltiness.

Bottle. Dark brown, almost black in color with a medium sized tan head. Aroma of fresh baked black bread, roasted malts and caramel. Mild roasted malt flavor with lots of yeast and a somewhat bitter finish. Very aggressive carbonation. Very smooth and drinkable beer.

Near black color, red tints, with a medium off-white head and long lacing. Fruity aroma, roasted plums and cherry juice, wads of tobacco as well. Sweet and roasty flavor at first, medium body, gives way to a sticky finish not unlike grape juice. A decent and at times tasty beer.

Not a bad base but the carbonic acid shows through as if one of those artificially carbonated cans of Boddingtons Ale. Aroma is very nice: toffee and oaty. Very dark black color but very unintense smoky coffee flavor in comparison, perhaps partly due to the H2CO3. However, this beer is quite drinkable and may even be a good choice for someone who specifically doesn’t like the intensity of most German black beers.

Bottle: Before even pouring this, the uncapped bottle sat about two feet from me while I surfed the net. Well, the aroma screamed at me! Toffee/mocha smell with some roasted coffee. Poured a dark brown color with a frizzy, tan head that produced fair lacing. The flavor on the other hand was of burnt weak coffee. Light to medium body but slightly watery. The back of the bottle says" Sip one while you take a bath, or, like we do in Germany, add it directly to your bath water". Has anyone done this?

(Rating #100, woohoo!) Bottle. Pours a mahogany that’s on the verge of being opaque black, with a disappearing beige head. The nose is quite malty, with a little licorice, chocolate, and toffee. The flavor is almost exactly how it smells, but noticeably carbonic. There is a bit of hop, but I had to concentrate to pick it out. Perhaps a bit lackluster, but this is a very well balanced beer and is quite satisfying.

Why doesn’t this have a higher rating, I wonder? Beautifully dark red like Coca-Cola, a tall and lacy beige head that doesn’t last too long, and a faint nose of malt, iced coffee, pumpernickel and olive oil. The body is exceptionally smooth, a bit oily, a bit creamy, like goat’s milk hand soap. Then, that flavour of iced coffee, a whiff of chocolate and cola, some prune. Slightly bitter finish with zero astringency. A bit thin, perhaps flat, but it adds to the guzzlability factor. I enjoyed this beer greatly.

On tap at the Cockney Pub, Aarhus. As it was on draught I missed out on all the daftness about bathing monks. Black as black can be. Restrained earthy aroma. Fruity, with some coffee notes and burnt malt. Really nice mix of malt and hop. Some sharpness on the finish. The mouthfeel is not that full but its a good schwarzbier. Whatever the therapeutic properties of pouring in into your bath, I’d prefer to drink it.